This Week in Africa
Join us for our APSA short course “Building sustainable cities” in Philadelphia in September (Sign up here). Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“It’s been 30 years and I am still learning how to forgive.” – Florence Mukantaganda, whose husband was killed in the Rwandan Genocide
30-year anniversary of Rwandan Genocide
It has been thirty years since the Rwandan Genocide, and memories run deep. Perpetrators and survivors now live side by side. Researchers play a central role in remembering the past. Here are three things the international community should have done. This video covers Victoria Uwonkunda’s return to her country after 30 years. Declan Walsh provides this overview of Paul Kagame’s controversial rule. Michela Wrong addresses the truth about the Rwandan Genocide. These are the lessons and legacy of the Genocide.
Jacob Zuma is back
South Africa’s court ruled that Jacob Zuma is free to run in parliamentary elections, which gives him a shot at the presidency. The ANC’s popularity plummets in latest polls as support for Zuma surges (though be careful with the polls). Is Zuma back?
Senegal’s new government
Senegal’s president creates his new government, which includes four women out of 25. The government’s economic policy might not be so different from Sall’s government. The political transition demonstrates a country back from the brink. This is a nice discussion about the state of democracy in West Africa. Bassirou Diomaye Faye gives young people hope. Did Senegal save democracy?
Watch this for more analysis: How did we get here and what should we expect?
Gender equality in Sierra Leone
Orange Day celebration demonstrates commitment to gender equality and ever-stronger democracy in Sierra Leone. War, Women, and Post-Conflict Empowerment explores gender equality in Sierra Leone.
Tensions in Ethiopia
Abiy Ahmed’s reckless abandon and meddling from the UAE pushes Ethiopia closer to violence. The killing of Oromo leader Bate Urgessa raises more questions. Amnesty International calls for an investigation into killings in the Amhara Region. Meanwhile, the country bets on property ownership to attract foreign investors. The government has demolished homes in central Addis Ababa. As Marco Di Nunzio explains, “Demolitions are undermining the existing economic fabric of the city.” Read this excellent article for more analysis.
Violence in the DR Congo
Rwanda is funding rebels in the DR Congo, but the world can stop it. This project explores the dynamics of the M23 in the Congo (nice summary thread here). Host families are offering a “heart of solidarity” to those displaced from the violence. Meanwhile, furniture in Uganda is made from DR Congo’s illicit timber trade.
Sudan’s civil war
RSF backed militias killed more than a hundred people in South Kordofan this week. It has been a year of war in Sudan.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Learn about how Kenyan Washington Okumu saved South Africa’s first election. A queer Ghanaian film may never be screened. Mohamed Kheir Omer and Parselelo Ole Kantai analyze Africa’s democratic dividend. Elizabeth Dessie examines voice, agency, and citizenship among youth in the Global South. This is how growing hostility in South Africa impacts South-South migration. Alan Kyerematen will challenge the NPP and NDC in Ghana.
Political unrest threatens stability in Chad. This is fascinating: the disconnect faced by deaf worshippers in Nigeria. Learn more about Gabon’s national dialogue to help heal the wounds.
Is William Ruto winning hearts and minds abroad or at home?
Africa’s rapid urbanization
How have charter cities evolved? This article examines food justice in Cape Town. Christian Doll explains naming and place-making in Juba, South Sudan. Cape Town’s digital nomads clash with local needs. This is how three community organizations in Johannesburg miss the mark on social media. This ethnography examines apprentices in Onitsha City, Nigeria. Abidjan bans begging.
New insights in African history
I can’t wait to read this: Richard Reid’s The African Revolution: A History of the Long Nineteenth Century. This article outlines the past and present of traditional institutions in Africa. Monuments and Memories in Africa: Reflections on Coloniality and Decoloniality is out. And if you read one thing this week about African history, make it Isaac Samuel’s “The General History of Africa.”
Building sustainable cities
Join us for the workshop “Building sustainable cities: The politics of provision, implementation and management” at APSA in September 4 in Philadelphia. The short course seeks papers that examine how residents demand rights to the city; the politics of service provision; the process of implementation, and; the long-term management of cities. Sign up here by May 15 if you are interested in presenting.
Research corner
This is an important piece on the politics of forced displacement and how states respond. This article outlines social protection in the developing world. This study explains when education increases political participation in Senegal. This article examines the relationship between local UN peacekeeping deployment and food security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Liberia.
Learn more about intermediaries during colonial rule in the Gold Coast. Portia Roelofs examines valence issues, methodological blindness, and the politics of development in Nigeria. Could decentralization be the key to resisting autocrats? Evidence from Tanzania says yes. This study demonstrates how to increase tax revenue developing countries like the DR Congo.
This looks cool: African Football Migration: Aspirations, Experiences and Trajectories. Read this: Gender in Agrarian Transitions: Liberation Perspectives from the South. Moses Khisa’s edited volume looks great: Autocratization in Contemporary Uganda: Clientelism, Coercion, and Social Control. Take a look at The Politics of Revenue Bargaining in Africa. J. Siguru Wahutu’s In the Shadow of the Global North: Journalism in Postcolonial Africa looks great. Check out Michaela Collord’s Wealth, Power, and Authoritarian Institutions: Comparing Dominant Parties and Parliaments in Tanzania and Uganda.
When case selection falls apart. And the framing of questions matter.
The week in development
Vital medical supplies are held up at a Ghanaian port, signaling a looming health crisis. Senegal’s new president releases his action plan to boost the economy. An electricity tariff hike in Nigeria angers citizens. Check out these cool maps of Africa. Zimbabwe announces a new currency backed by gold. Citizens’ assemblies help democracy flourish. China will support East Africa’s crude oil pipeline. Jumia Food’s shutdown left hundreds of drivers jobless and unable to withdraw earnings. Salena Tramel explains how to stop the global land rush. The problem with cocoa. And stories of the just transition in the global south.
Can Tanzania afford a universal pension scheme? Is regional integration working? Is your impact evaluation asking questions that matter? Is Africa’s credit crunch over?
Cholera outbreaks
Cholera outbreaks threaten thousands of people across the continent. The global stockpile of the vaccine is gone. The vaccine is only made by one company. It is felt in different ways. For example, nearly 100 people die after a boat sinks off coast of Mozambique as many of the passengers were fleeing a cholera outbreak.
Mining and extraction
USIP provides this report on critical minerals in Africa. A new study shows an alarming rise in reproductive health issues among women near cobalt mines in the DR Congo. Africa demands a fair deal from global finance. Ken Opalo is right: (Energy) poverty is very bad for humans and the environment.
Africa and the environment
This piece explains unsuccessful development interventions in Kenya’s drylands. “Carbon colonialism” meets resistance in Africa. A Dubai company’s staggering land deals raise fears about risks to indigenous livelihoods. Climate change made West Africa’s dangerous heatwave 10 times more likely. Why is Ghana so hot this year?
Gulf princes, the safari industry, and conservation groups are displacing Maasai from their homeland in Tanzania. And use this in your classes: The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World.
Daily life
This immersive spectacle in Tanzania takes you on a journey of Jane Goodall’s scientific breakthroughs. Revisit 1983-1986 Ghana with Talking Drums Magazine, and learn more here. Tanzania is targeting Chinese tourists with this new documentary.
Take a look at Rachel Strohm’s Africa Update for more.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil